Chef Justin Sutherland pleads guilty to violent threats after domestic dispute

Justin Sutherland domestic assault charges

A chef known throughout the Twin Cities is facing domestic assault charges following an arrest during which the victim says that he choked and said he would shoot her.

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - St. Paul chef Justin Sutherland pleaded guilty in Ramsey County District Court to a felony count of threats of violence in connection to an incident involving a domestic dispute in June.

What we know

A plea agreement entered on Oct. 21 calls for two years' probation in addition to completing 100 hours of community service. Sutherland will also undergo a chemical dependency evaluation, and be banned from possessing a gun.

A sentencing date is currently scheduled for Dec. 13, 2024.

Domestic dispute

On June 28, 2024, St. Paul Police Department officers responded to the 800 block of Front Avenue around 8 p.m. on the report of a man with a gun outside an address at that location.

According to the criminal complaint, a woman told police Sutherland pointed a gun and vowed to shoot her, choked her and struck her in the chest with the weapon. Police later determined he was not currently in possession of a weapon.

Police say they then spoke to Sutherland and the woman involved in the incident and established that a domestic assault as well as threats of violence had taken place.